


Poker Face

by Indehed



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Coda, Episode Related, Episode Tag, M/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:27:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23949127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indehed/pseuds/Indehed
Summary: Missing/extended scenes and a coda to episode 10x09 (the thanksgiving episode where Danny moves into the McGarrett house and there aren't enough beds).“We shared a bed in Washington. We shared a bed last night. Frankly, I’ve never shared a bed with anyone in my adult life where I wasn’t also… y’know. Having sex with them.”Danny licked his lips and nodded, looking down at his hands as he fidgeted before shuffling around, turning to face Steve and resting an elbow on the back of the couch. “So, what you’re saying is, if we share a bed again tonight, which is highly possible considering the lack of beds in this house, we should be having sex?”
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 37
Kudos: 347





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had about 75% of this fic written before the finale aired. In fact, before it was even announced as a finale. So there's some things in here that are maybe freakily prophetic about the finale and also some things whereby I stick by my characterization and say fuck you to a canon that thinks Steve would ever leave Danny (and Eddie) behind for any reason. Most of it is all subtle, but as I was reading back through to edit, I caught a few small things.  
> Anyway, this is how I would have preferred 10.09 to finish up. And I will go to my grave believing none of the three men in this household spent a night on the couch in all the months they were (are still?) living together.
> 
> Also, because this fic covers missing scenes for the episode, it's good to maybe watch it as a reminder first, or maybe rewatch after with these in mind!! ;)

Danny pulled the Camaro into Steve’s driveway and sat for a moment staring at the front door while drumming his hands on the steering wheel. This was his last chance to decide he was going too far and to back out.

He’d phoned Lou about a half an hour before while standing in his own living room with a couple of bags packed ready to go. He figured the other man would tell him he was insane and overprotective and worrying too much... and he’d agree, unpack and go about his day as normal. Except that didn’t happen. Lou thought it was a decent idea. Well, he said Danny should do what he felt was the right thing to do in his gut and pointed out that Danny’s worrying nature wouldn’t give him any rest until he saw things for himself. In other words, Lou figured Danny needed this as much as Steve.

And Danny couldn’t help but agree.

So was it selfish for him to turn up at the house like this? This past week he’d tried to give Steve some space; at least in person while they weren’t working. He thought the SEAL might need some time to process privately and to mourn. Sure, he’d sent a _couple_ of texts and made a _few_ phone calls, but he hadn’t been beating down the door demanding Steve open up to him. It was just... gentle reminders that he was there when Steve was ready.

But Steve was being stubborn and the team had been giving each other concerned eyes when Steve’s back was turned. Then the eyes fell on Danny like he could work some kind of miracle. So here he was, staring through his windshield at Steve’s house.

He took a deep breath as he got out of the car, grabbed his bags out of the trunk and made his way to the door. He dropped his bags long enough to knock and had them in his hands again when the door was answered, Junior giving him a ‘hey’ that he returned.

“Why you looking at me like that?” he asked as he breezed by the younger SEAL. Glancing at Steve, Danny dropped his bags and tried for nonchalance.

“You, uh...” Steve began as he pointed at Danny’s bags.

“Mold,” Danny said before Steve could even remotely get it into his head that Danny was leaving for some reason and had come for a goodbye - that was the last thing Steve needed right now.

“What?” Steve asked as Danny sat down on the recliner.

“Mold. I got mold. Looked under the sink. I got mold. Called an expert, comes over, long story short I need a place to stay six, seven days. A week tops,” he finished, inwardly cursing at how rehearsed his excuse sounded.

“Have we done this before?” Steve asked. “You had mold and you came and you stayed?”

“I dunno, I mean, we live in a tropical climate.”

“You ever consider maybe you’re the issue?”

“No. No, I didn’t consider that,” Danny brushed off, sticking with his story. “I was gonna stay in a hotel-”

“Okay good, you could do that-”

“But then I thought why would I do that, why would I waste a lot of cash when my best friend’s got an extra room.”

“No, your best friend doesn’t have an extra room. I’m in the extra room,” Junior put in, getting in the way of the verbal tennis match Steve and Danny had started.

“Yeah, but you could sleep on the couch for a couple days,” Danny suggested.

“It’s Eddie’s couch,” Junior answered, steamrolling over Danny’s carefully laid plans.

“Eddie’s a dog,” Danny said. “Dog goes where you put him.”

“Eddie, don’t, he doesn’t, it’s your couch,” Steve waved off, placating Eddie as if the dog understood what was going on. “Look, of course, you’re welcome in my house, alright? It’s fine. I’m just saying if I’m gonna run a hostel for team members I’m making a chore wheel because I’m not picking up after the two of you.”

“Okay,” Danny nodded. Junior looked confused and like he could have argued again if Steve’s ringing phone hadn’t interrupted the conversation but Danny was quite happy to know that at least the initial stage of his plan had worked - he was now staying at Steve’s for a couple of days. He knew that now he could keep a better eye on him, gauge the situation and be there to help where he was needed.

“We’re on the way,” Steve said as he hung up before telling the other two they had a murder to get to.

“Okay,” Danny repeated, this time leaning forward in the seat. “I got work clothes at the top of my bag. It’s like I knew I’d end up needing that stuff first. Help me take this upstairs?” he asked of Steve who gave him a look again. “I’m not leaving all my stuff down here with Eddie. He’ll see it as a new toy, get into my bag and ruin my stuff.”

“Eddie wouldn’t do that,” Steve said, Eddie’s eyebrows rising as he looked between them and maybe the dog did understand the conversation after all because Danny was sure that look meant ‘yeah, I would’.

“Dogs like to chew things, it’s what they do no matter how well trained,” Danny responded.

“Well, there’s no space for them in the guest room. It’s a small room and Junior’s got all his stuff in there,” Steve told him.

“So we’ll put them in your room,” Danny shrugged, standing and grabbing for the lighter bag and indicating for Steve to grab the other and follow. Junior had already given up on them and had gone to get organized. “Hurry up, we’ve got a crime scene to get to.”

He smiled to himself as he caught Steve’s put upon eye roll, but the man followed Danny’s instruction and followed him upstairs, bag in hand, maybe eying him carefully but he didn’t mention what he was thinking.

Danny had pulled his work attire from the top of the bag while Steve had rummaged in his closet and drawers. Steve began to undress in front of Danny who glanced up when Steve was bare-chested. He pulled his own t-shirt off and got his arms into his shirt. When Steve caught him looking he moved his eyes to the bed.

“Your bed is pretty big. I’ve never noticed how big. Before. Not that I’ve spent much time in here...”

Steve narrowed his eyes as he finished dressing and sat to pull his work boots on. “We’ll figure something out,” he said, avoiding any other comment.

“I’m just saying, we shared in Washington. It was no big deal there.”

“We’ll figure something out,” Steve repeated then moved to the door. “Hurry up and change your pants. We gotta go.”

Danny shooed Steve away with his hand but the SEAL just leaned against the doorframe and watched. “Do you mind?”

“What?” Steve asked, then joked, “Sharing a bed is fine but changing clothes around each other is a step too far?”

Danny just sighed. “I mean in or out,” he said and indicated the door. “I don’t care which side you’re on but Junior’s looking like this is all a bit awkward for him, so make your mind up,” he finished as he waved behind Steve to where Junior then blushed and ran down the stairs.

Steve turned around, a slight flush to his own face as he noticed Junior’s hasty retreat. “Right,” he said, trying to cover. “Just hurry up,” he said again to Danny then closed the door behind him.

*

“No, Rachel, I just thought that after everything Steve’s been through it might be good for him to see the kids on Thanksgiving for a couple hours, that’s all. I’m not trying to undermine any custody agreements about who gets them on holidays,” Danny rubbed at his face as he sat hunched over his desk. “Even though Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday you care about,” he mumbled, passive-aggressively reminding her that the British don’t celebrate it.

“I may not have grown up with it but the kids enjoy it. And Stan is flying over from Las Vegas and he’d like to be able to spend time with them, too.”

“Wait, hang on a second. You never said anything before about Stanley coming to see you.”

Tani and Junior were still looking into the robbery at his parents’ house and Lou had come up with a lead and was taking Quinn to run it down. Danny had just taken what he’d thought would be a brief few moments to call Rachel with what he thought was a quick question but it seemed this conversation was going to go on longer than he’d expected.

“He has some last-minute business in Honolulu and he reached out. I wasn’t expecting it but Grace and Charlie would both like to see him,” she said, laying it on a little thick in her tone to make Danny feel guilty about his request. He didn’t though. Steve was more of a figure in their lives as a ‘step’... _something_... than Stanley had been for a long time. Which was why he’d started this conversation in the first place.

“So he’s coming to the house?”

“That’s usually how these things work, Daniel,” she sighed. “I understand about Steve and I feel for him, but they can see him anytime. Stan is just here for a short while.”

“You sure about that?” Danny asked, a hint of jealousy in his voice as he grappled with confusing emotions.

“No, I’m not. I don’t know, Danny. Things are complicated.”

“Yeah, they are,” Danny agreed, then decided he didn’t really want to go down this tangent. “Look, it’s fine. You’re right, they can see Steve another day. I told you already that I’m staying with him for a little bit just to make sure he’s okay.”

“Is there even room for _you_ let alone the kids?”

“Not really,” he said honestly.

“So maybe this would be a good time to discuss my taking them to England to visit their Grandmother? If you’re going to be busy taking care of him for a while...”

“Not now,” he said. “I’m in the middle of a case and I know that conversation won’t be a short one.”

“Fine. We’ll talk next time you’re here.”

He hung up and rubbed at his temples, feeling the stress building as he unpacked that conversation in his head - the possibilities when Rachel was spending time with Stanley and the possibilities of Danny not seeing his kids for a week or more if they go on vacation without him...

He needed coffee.

*

“Did Lou and Quinn get anything from their lead?” Danny asked as he washed out his coffee mug while Steve was rummaging around in the fridge.

“Yeah, turns out someone approached Lolo Joe trying to sell him Koa wood. They got an address for the meet and are running it down now. Hopefully, they catch them and we get to wrap this thing up quickly.”

“You looking for the treasure of the Sierra Madre? What’s going on?” Danny asked as Steve got down onto a knee to hunt around the bottom shelves with a vaguely annoyed look on his face.

“I was convinced I had some leftover pasta in here somewhere. I’m starving.”

Danny glanced at the clock on the wall. “Come on,” he reached down and lifted Steve up by his elbow. “I’ll take you to lunch. We’ve got time before Lou and Quinn get back and Adam is busy doing some extra digging. Let’s take a break.”

*

They got sandwiches at a little shop a block away from headquarters.

Lou had already called while Danny was ordering to tell them that the bust was, well, a bust. They found the thieves but they were dead so things had got more complicated. Lou and Quinn were heading back in while Adam worked on trying to identify the thieves. As much as Steve thought they should head straight back, Danny convinced him that they had the luxury of a half hour to sit at one of the small tables outside the shop.

“Any update on the mold?” Steve asked around bites.

“I got an appointment for Monday. You know how it is around the holidays. If it’s not an emergency they don’t come out. Then they’ll let me know how long the process takes.”

“Thought you said you’d be at my place for a week, tops.”

“I did? Right, I said that. Well, I was just guessing. I don’t actually know for sure yet how long I need to stay out of my house.”

“What about the kids?”

“They are with their mother.”

“Ouch,” Steve winced and shook his head a little.

“What?”

“I recognize that tone. Things between you and Rachel hit another rough patch?”

Danny swallowed and wiped his mouth with a napkin before sitting back in his chair. “She invited Stanley over to spend time with them while he’s in Honolulu.”

“And that timing just happens to be over Thanksgiving?”

“Yes, it does,” Danny nodded. “And she’s considering a pre-Christmas visit to England with them since I have them over their break this year.”

“Almost sounds like good timing,” Steve said after taking a glug of his pog juice. “I mean, you notice the mold about a day after they went back to Rachel’s and now that they might be gone for a little while it’s a good chance to get the house all fixed up.”

“It’s a coincidence.”

“Come on, Danno. We both know there’s no such thing as coincidences.”

Danny jutted his chin out as he considered it and then nodded. “So maybe I noticed it before but decided to hold out until I was sure what it was. And maybe since it’s just me to worry about I can concentrate on fixing it,” he ended with his tone slightly higher than his usual. Only because he was worried he was being too transparent over exactly what he was talking about and it wasn’t the mold.

Steve gave a small nod and his eyes softened but his phone beeped with a message. “It’s Adam. He says they’ve got something and he’s going over it with Quinn and Lou now. Come on.”

*

Lou, Quinn, and Danny were systematically going through the family history and had just finished going through that of the victim. Adam was working with CSU and Steve was liaising with HPD seeing if there was anything else they could get from the initial crime scene.

Since there were three of them, they decided to take one of the kids each and were sitting in relative silence together in the same office, with just the sound of keyboard clicks and paper shuffling as they concentrated. But Danny could feel eyes on him and eventually looked up at the right time to catch Lou’s half-smile.

“What?”

“So how did McGarrett take it when you showed up on his doorstep this morning?”

“He said staying is fine.”

“He did?” Lou huffed.

“You’re surprised? This is Steve we’re talking about. And me.”

“Exactly. I wasn’t around the last time you cohabited but I heard the stories. I know you love each other but living together is a whole ‘nother ball game.”

“Wait, you moved in with Steve? Why?” Quinn interjected.

“Mold,” Danny answered and Lou huffed another short laugh. Quinn’s eyebrow shot up but neither man elaborated.

“I’ve got a spare room if you need,” she offered.

“Look at you,” Danny smiled. “Finally got some co-workers you like spending time with,” he said as he nudged her arm with his elbow and they smiled at each other.

“What can I say, maybe you were right about all that,” Quinn replied.

“It’s fine. Steve and I have a rhythm, y’know? So if we’re sharing a space and get frustrated we know that it’s fine to maybe yell at each other but it doesn’t affect anything else about us.”

“What Danny is trying to say is that they’ve been married so long that the arguments don’t mean they don’t love each other any less.”

Danny nodded his head. “If I stay with you at your place after knowing you a few months and I do something that pisses you off then it could make things really awkward between us. Maybe affect our friendship. Steve and I don’t have that problem.”

“Old married couple. I get it. Kinda got that from the first moment we all met,” Quinn said as if it was obvious while Lou chuckled behind his hand.

“You got that from us all pointing guns at each other?” Danny asked, shaking his head a little.

“You told me to shoot him.”

“I did do that.”

“So if Junior is still staying there too that means someone has to be on a couch though, right?” Quinn asked.

“Apparently the couch belongs to Eddie,” Danny answered.

“So that means there’s three of you and just Steve’s room and the guest room that Junior is in?” Quinn continued and Lou just smiled, enjoying the comedy of errors he was privy to though he tried to cover it with getting on with work.

“Well, if John hadn’t converted Steve’s childhood bedroom into a home gym that he never even used - and Steve still doesn’t use either, by the way - then there would have been an extra room with a bed in it. But there’s not. So... yeah, we’re still trying to figure things out.”

“Junior pays rent though, right?”

“Right,” Danny answered her.

“So it makes sense that the person paying rent gets the spare bedroom.”

“Maybe.”

“So unless you’ve got something better to offer then I think you’re going to have to share the couch with Eddie.”

Danny mulled the logic in his head and he couldn’t really refute it. His whole argument was his and Steve’s shared history and friendship and... whatever else they had between them that no one else did. But that could also go against him. After all, Steve would get a kick out of seeing Danny and Eddie sharing the couch so if Danny wanted that guest room he’d have to make a bigger play for it.

“Excuse me,” he said standing.

“Where are you going? We got work to do,” Lou said.

“I’m just going for coffee.”

“Oh, can you bring me some?” Quinn asked.

“Get your own. I’m heading down the street for the good stuff from the coffee shop Steve likes.”

“Uh-huh,” Lou flashed him a knowing smirk. “It’ll take more than coffee to win him over, you know that.”

“It’s a start,” Danny said over his shoulders and just heard Lou say to Quinn how much he was going to enjoy watching them over the next few days before the door closed.

*

“Hi,” Danny breezed back into HQ with two cups in his hands.

“What's that?” Steve asked.

“What does it look like?”

“This is highly suspicious behavior. What's going on?”

“It's a coffee,” Danny said, downplaying it. “I bring my landlord a nice cup of coffee.”

“Okay. You're not getting the guest room.”

“And you don't have to have the coffee.” Danny moved the cup back out of Steve’s way. Truth be told, he was still doing a lot of this stuff for show. He hadn’t truly thought any further than making sure he was on hand for Steve at his house and as much as he wasn’t saying anything out loud, the guest room wasn’t really what he was after anyway. “I just came here to tell you that we are looking into the Parks kids. Alibis, phone records from last night. That's all.”

“All right. Do me a favor, just take it easy on the caffeine, all right? You know you get all jittery and stupid when you drink too much coffee.”

Before Danny could say anything more, Adam came into the room brandishing a file. “Hey, guys, we just caught a break. CSU was processing the koa tree and found an earring lodged in the lower section of the trunk. DNA on it popped for a Jane Doe cold case from 15 years ago.”

“Is this gonna be disgusting?” Danny asked just as Steve opened it up, pictures of decaying body parts prominent. “Yes,” he answered himself.

"Jane Doe, age 15 to 20, murdered and dismembered.” Steve read from the file. "Some, but not all of the body parts were found in burial sites in Pupukea-Paumalu Forest Reserve.”

“So, they chopped her up,” Danny said.

“It turns out the head was the only part that was never recovered,” Adam told them.

“So it's possible we just found what was inside that tree,” Steve surmised.

“Yeah.”

They called Quinn and Lou to join them but Lou said he thought he was onto something and to start without him. Steve finally accepted the coffee from Danny and both of them downed them quickly while Adam and Quinn took the lead with the monitors, bringing up all the information they needed now.

“Hey, credit where it's due,” Adam began. “Whichever sibling killed our Jane Doe was smart to hide the head in a state-protected tree on private property.”

“Why hold on to the head at all? Was the killer keeping it for some kind of sick trophy?” Quinn asked.

“Well, think about it practically, right?” Steve answered. “A teenage girl is probably not gonna have prints in the system, but she's gonna have dental records.”

“Well, that would explain why you'd want to keep the skull close.”

“Right,” Danny agreed. “And it would've worked if the chainsaw people didn't come around.”

Steve pointed at the screen. “All right, so, 15 years ago, Darren, Preston, and Olivia were living at the house at the time of the murder-”

Lou approached the computer table having finished looking into whatever lead he’d discovered and he looked like he’d cracked it. “Tell you who I like for this thing. I did a little deeper dive into Larry, Moe and Girly's phone records. Boy, I got a story to tell you.”

*

Having a bigger team these days was great for the variety and for being able to delegate to other people. Lou and Quinn had done a lot of work on this one so they’d earned the chance to interrogate Preston - Quinn’s idea to use the skull certainly earned her place in the room - and it was Adam’s turn to get out from the research and paperwork to go do something.

So Steve and Danny took over on that end, liaising with HPD, sorting out reports and warrants and doing the ‘boring’ part of the job while the others retrieved the missing skull and then made the arrests.

Danny watched through the window of his office as Steve placed various phone calls. He couldn’t read lips, not really, but he could tell by the way Steve stood and his facial expressions that some of the calls were about the case and one was to Tani to catch up on what was happening over the theft at Junior’s parents’ house and how he was doing.

After his last hang up, Steve gave Danny a brief head nod then made his way over to Danny’s office. He hung in the doorway, leaning on the door handle as he spoke. “Looks like the case is wrapping up. They’ve got all three siblings in custody now.”

“That’s good. I guess Tani was wrong about us getting this all done today. But I’m getting a hand cramp from all this paperwork,” Danny said as he flexed his fingers then dropped his pen and sat back. “There’s a reason we usually have the kids do all this stuff.”

“It’s our turn,” Steve shrugged. “And Junior’s been preoccupied.”

“Understandably,” Danny agreed. “How’s he doing?”

“Tani’s being a little bit vague but looks like they’ve worked it all out and are pretty sure they’ll find everything and be able to get it back.”

“Good. That’s good,” he said with a nod then changed the subject. “So I’m thinking Indian. My treat.”

“You’re buying dinner now, too? I could get used to this, but you’re still not getting the guest room.”

“Tell me something,” Danny asked as he stood and made sure he had everything he needed in his pockets. “Your father turned your old bedroom into a home gym. He never used it. You never use it. The stuff in there is gathering dust. Why not just turn it back into a bedroom?”

“I store my weights there and besides, there are days I can’t go out swimming or running so I use the treadmill that’s in there,” he answered.

“What does that account for? Two whole days in the entire year where you can’t go outside to exercise? Take those days off! Sell the equipment to make a little extra cash and move the weights and all those old files you’ve got stored in there and presto, new bedroom for when you have even more guests around.”

“I don’t need an extra bedroom.”

“Excuse me? I’m pretty sure we’ve established that having you, me, and Junior in the house causes a sleeping arrangement problem that could be fixed by the reinstatement of the third bedroom in that house.”

“We’ll be fine,” Steve said, putting an arm over Danny’s shoulders as he led him out of the office.

*

The good thing about Indian food, at least from where they got it delivered, was that it could be laid out easily for them to share. Leftovers could be part of the next day’s Thanksgiving spread, eaten for lunch a couple of days later, or if Junior got home hungry then he could have some (it turned out the hunt for the missing stuff was taking a little longer, but both men suspected Junior was now just chilling at Tani’s place to avoid them).

They enjoyed each others’ company with their usual bickering - this time about Steve dipping his naan into the patia sauce of Danny’s main dish. Not _his_ dish, _Danny’s_. Steve had his own curry. The sharing portion was supposed to be all the extras they ordered.

“I’m just saying, you always do this. You touch things that aren’t yours and contaminate them.”

“Excuse me, contaminate? Are you saying I have cooties?!”

“Yes! Maybe! I don’t know where you’ve been, frankly. Do I know if you washed your hands before dinner? I don’t. And dipping your bread in after biting it means it’s probably got spit on it that’s transferring over and god knows what germs are in your mouth.”

Steve shook his head but he was smiling as they argued. “My mouth and my hands are perfectly clean. And I’m not the one who cultivates germs considering what’s allegedly going on in your house right now.”

“It’s not my fault if my house has tiny holes and entrances that mold spores got into. That’s shoddy workmanship from when it was built. Nothing to do with me.”

“You keep telling yourself that,” Steve replied. “And also, if you want to dip your bread or your fork into my food then I’m not going to complain because that would be ridiculous.”

“So I’m ridiculous now?!”

“A little bit.”

“What if I stuck my tongue in? Maybe licked your plate like I’ve seen you do before, huh? Animal.”

“That, yes, that would be ridiculous but you know what? Go ahead! Because we’re not children and we don’t have cooties and I tell you something else, when you’re in a foxhole and you don’t have the luxuries of take out, you eat the food that’s in front of you, even if someone else’s spit might be on it. You don’t waste anything.”

“A waste of something is my years of trying to domesticate you. I’d be better off training Eddie, then I’d have some actual success. Here boy,” he called the dog over and gave him some of the darker chicken meat he had on his plate.

After they were full, they tidied up and put the leftovers in the kitchen to cool. Danny took out the trash while Steve wiped down the table then they sat together on the couch flicking through the channels on the TV with Eddie laying at their feet. 

It was a comfortable silence and easy to fall into. It was just nice having someone there as company. Steve hadn’t had a girlfriend for a while and Junior was so much younger than them and had different things he liked to do for fun, so Danny knew that Steve didn’t spend a whole lot of time with people outside of work. Except for Danny when he didn’t have the kids.  
Even when he _did_ have them. But this was different with them cohabiting and not worrying about drinking before driving home or watching the time thinking about what traffic might be like.

He melted further into the couch, leaning more towards Steve as he put his feet up on the coffee table. Steve stretched his arm along the back of the sofa close enough for Danny to feel a tingle at the back of his neck. 

“You talk to Rachel again today?”

“Nope.”

“You avoiding that conversation?”

Danny sighed. “Yup.”

“Any particular reason?”

“I guess not. I mean it’s all inevitable, right? Stan’s going to be there tomorrow. It’s a done deal. And going to England? I come off worse if I say no to that. And Rachel is right, y’know? Me staying here means there’s barely enough room for me let alone the kids when I get my time with them.”

“She said that?” 

“I hadn’t even really thought much about it. But then I also figured that I’d be back home before I had to,” Danny mused and cleared his throat. “I mean, the mold should be sorted by then.”

“The mold. Right,” Steve nodded. “But maybe you need to bite the bullet and have the conversation. Don’t let it fester like you usually do, eating you up inside, stressing you out.”

Danny sighed and mumbled. “And people wonder why maybe Rachel and I don’t really work…”

“What?”

“Nothing. You’re right. I’ll go call her now.” Danny pushed himself up doing his best not to disturb Eddie as he stepped over the dog and pulled his phone out of his pocket as he wandered into the kitchen. 

It wasn’t a conversation he enjoyed but he agreed to let Rachel take Grace and Charlie to England for a few weeks in early December. He managed to hold her off just a little so he could see them before they went and in his head, he was making plans for the day after Thanksgiving while Rachel kept talking and it went in one ear and out the other.

“Maybe if you didn’t spend so much time worrying about Steve-”

“Hold on,” he came back to his senses. “After everything he’s been through he deserves to have someone worry about him, okay?”

“Someone else could do that.”

“Who? Huh? He’s not seeing anyone and even if he were they wouldn’t know him like I do.”

“Does _anyone_ know him like you do?” She asked. It sounded like a genuine question but there was a bite to her words, a sarcastic edge that made him want to bite back. It was a wonder he thought that they could actually work things out considering this part of their old baggage. It wasn’t just worry about each other, there was a mistrust there. A questioning of what the other felt or was getting up to that didn’t go away, ever. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked and she just sighed down the phone and he could imagine what her face looked like. “We’ve been through a lot together.”

“Well, he left you out of this last escapade.”

“He didn’t have much choice in the matter,” he excused though he really wanted to yell some other stuff down the phone but he stopped himself, wondering why he would let this get to him, why he’d need to defend anything for or about Steve. “And I’m here for him now. He just lost his mom on top of everything with Joe earlier in the year... it’s the least I can do and now is not the time for you to be petty about the time I’m spending with him.”

“Petty? I’m not being petty Daniel, I’m just saying that you don’t have to do everything yourself. And the fact that you didn’t follow him blindly this time was a good thing. You may be a cop but you never signed up for the kind of things that he can get you into.”

“This is an old argument Rachel that there’s no point in repeating. Just… he’s family to me and you know how I feel about family.”

Shortly after, they hung up and Danny stared out at the ocean for a little bit longer, feeling like he’d been cheating on Rachel somehow despite the fact that the two of them had already agreed about how their attempt at repairing old wounds has failed utterly and the heightened stress and worry of Grace’s car crash had been the catalyst. They hadn’t been thinking straight. 

When Danny got back inside he heard voices and knew Junior was back. He found him in the living room sitting on the arm of the recliner while Steve was still in the same spot on the sofa, now with Eddie warming Danny’s spot. 

“Hey,” he greeted, standing just inside the door frame to the nook. 

“Hey,” Steve answered. “Uh, Junior called dibs on the spare room tonight.”

“He what now?”

“I asked Steve if things had been sorted, he said no. So I called dibs.”

“What are you, five? Did Tani tell you to use playground tactics? ‘Cause it sounds like something she’d suggest.”

“It’s a legitimate method of decision making,” Steve argued in Junior’s stead. “Frankly, you knew he was getting it anyway.”

“Yeah,” Danny sighed, admitting defeat.

“I’m gonna head upstairs. Gotta get up early and hunt up the last of my mom’s jewelry when the pawnshops open first thing,” Junior said, pointing upstairs. “Goodnight.”

They returned his goodnight and Danny sat down on the recliner, letting Eddie stay on the couch with his head on Steve’s lap. 

“So what did Rachel say? By your face, it can’t have been good.”

“The usual,” Danny waved off. “Nothing changes. Don’t know why I thought it could. What is it they say about the definition of insanity?”

“Repeating something and thinking the outcome will change?”

“I guess I’m insane ‘cause I seemed to think that this time would be different.”

“You’re not insane. She’s the mother of your kids, you’ll always have something between you.”

“Yeah. Lawyers,” Danny responded. Steve smiled at that and then Danny did in turn. “I’m good with it. It’s the right decision that we’re making. Just… being friends.”

“So what… does that mean you start dating again? Try to get back with Melissa?”

“That wouldn’t work either. She said I was only ever half in that relationship whether it be Rachel or… uh, someone else, or work or whatever… same kind of thing Lynn said to you.”

“Yeah,” Steve shifted a little uncomfortably. “The whole one-foot-out-the-door thing and never really being there.”

“Bit different for you though since you literally were gone a lot that last year of your relationship. Speaking of… you doing okay?”

Steve smiled and licked his lips. “Took you all day to ask that, huh?”

Danny shrugged. “Been waiting for it to come up naturally rather than just saying ‘hey buddy, wanna talk about your trauma’?”

“I don’t need to talk about it. Not now,” he answered honestly. “The things that weigh on my mind, they go away when I have other things around me. Other people,” he hinted. “That’s what gets me through.”

“Then I guess it’s your lucky day that I got that mold, huh?”

“Something like that,” Steve smiled, still rubbing at Eddie’s ears but then taking a breath. “Right. I think Junior’s got a good idea with the whole, going to bed thing. It’s getting late.”

“Guess I’m sharing mine with Eddie,” Danny said, eyes a little wider in case Steve wanted to refute that in some way. There was a pause, maybe one that went on just a little too long, but then Steve offered to go get a pillow and blanket for Danny.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been dark for a while. Danny had even turned the television off, deciding to not use it to drown out the sounds of the ocean. Weirdly, he wasn’t so bothered by that anymore. Eddie was a warm presence beside him and it made things tight but he had always been a dog person so he didn’t mind as much. But sleeping like this was for afternoon naps, not whole nights and it was difficult to do more than doze.

He wasn’t sure how long it had been since everyone had gone to bed, an hour maybe, when he could hear footsteps on the landing above and then coming down the stairs. Eddie hopped off the couch and went towards the person while Danny craned his neck and watched upside down as the stocking feet of Steve McGarrett, now just wearing sleep pants, appeared at the bottom of the stairs. 

“Come on,” was all he said with a gesture. 

“Eddie or me?” Danny asked quietly then interrupted again before Steve could say anything more. “Never mind, I’m coming. Eddie, you can get the couch back,” he patted beside himself and Eddie hopped back up, relieved to have his own space again as Danny followed Steve.

“I like this side,” Steve said, pointing to the left of the bed as they were looking at it after closing the door behind themselves. 

“I know,” Danny answered. “Which is a good thing, as I like the right.”

“That makes this easier then,” Steve agreed, clearly only half awake as they climbed into the bed. 

“Why’d you change your mind?” Danny asked as they lay side by side. 

“Didn’t… just thought you and Eddie on the couch was funny,” Steve laughed. 

“Hilarious,” Danny reached out and swatted Steve’s arm. 

“I like the company,” Steve finally admitted and Danny wasn't sure how to respond.

“This is a comfortable bed.”

“Yes, it is,” Steve agreed, turning onto his side facing Danny but already falling asleep again.

“I could get used to this,” Danny replied as he stayed on his back, wriggling just a little as he enjoyed the comfort.

“That’s fine by me,” Steve mumbled and then softly snored.

*

Danny woke laying on his side and warm in their shared bed. Comfortable. Even with the fact that they were closer than they had been when they’d fallen asleep; now facing each other and with Steve’s hand curled around Danny’s wrist holding onto him. 

He twisted his arm so that he could get out of the grip and then tucked Steve’s hand back in against himself before he turned onto his back and around to look at the clock.

“What time is it?” Steve mumbled, throat still morning raw.

“Just after seven,” Danny responded. “Aren’t you usually swimming by now?”

“Didn’t want to wake you. I know how grumpy you get if you don’t get enough sleep.”

“How considerate of you,” Danny replied then woke up a little more, brain engaging. “What time does Junior normally get up?”

“‘Bout the same as me.”

“Must be a SEAL thing,” Danny rubbed at his eyes and then realized. “Wait, if you slept in, is he already up?”

“I think so,” Steve answered. “Heard moving around a short while ago.”

“He’ll know I’m not on the couch. He’ll know I’m in here with you, because unless I’m crashing in my car, where else could I be?” Danny let his brain work as he spoke.

“So?”

“He’ll think we’re sleeping together.” He sat up, leaning on his arms, head twisted back to look at Steve.

“We _are_ sleeping together,” Steve pointed out as he sat up with his back to the headboard.

“You know what I mean,” Danny said, shoving at Steve.

“Why are you panicking?”

“I’m not panicking.”

“You’re the one who pointed out - in front of Junior - that we slept together in Washington.”

“I don’t think I phrased it like that and you know what I mean. There’s a difference between sleeping together and _sleeping together_.”

“Junior was in the Navy. Close quarters is a thing. He knows what it’s like to sleep next to someone. He won’t see it as a big deal. If it was someone else in that spare room like Mary or Tani then yeah, by the time we were showered and dressed we’d have everyone we know talking about us having sex, but Junior won’t see it like a normal civilian would.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure,” Steve replied, his eyes still holding their amusement but maybe a tinge of some kind of hurt underneath it that Danny couldn’t place. “You’re really bothered by people thinking we’re having sex?”

“No. Not like that. I don’t like false information, that’s all. I mean if it were true then there wouldn’t be a problem. But it’s not. So…”

“Right, that makes sense,” Steve replied, nodding. “And now I’m going for a swim. Want to join me?”

“Not today,” Danny answered, as if there might be a day when he actually would go out on one of Steve’s morning swims with him.

“Suit yourself,” Steve answered, squeezing Danny’s sheet covered thigh as he got out of the bed and plodding to the en suite to get his swim shorts on. 

*

Danny made breakfast for them. Pancakes. Another form of ‘payment’ for his getting to stay at the house as well as being a Thanksgiving treat. He even put chocolate chips in Steve’s and made extra bacon so that he could slip some to Eddie who, instead of swimming with Steve, sat drooling beside Danny in the kitchen as he prepared everything. 

After they ate and took turns showering and dressing, they began setting out the tables and chairs needed for Steve’s Thanksgiving gathering.

Danny’s timing wasn’t coincidental. After losing Joe and his mom - no matter what Danny thought of them both and how they’d treated Steve over the years - he knew a holiday like this would be difficult for Steve. Especially with Mary and Joan not making it over this year. Steve had already mentioned in the days leading up that this year he didn’t plan on organizing a football game. Instead he just thought a small gathering in his backyard would be best. 

Everyone was supportive of Steve but that was yet another moment when their expectations had fallen on Danny to do something, to help him. It was one of those moments that had planted the seed in his mind that in order to help Steve he needed to stick close to him. Truth be told, he wanted to do that anyway, not just for Steve but for himself, whether as a way to avoid any of his own problems or because he felt some kind of responsibility for Steve. Or maybe a guilt for not being there the whole time; not having Steve’s back when his mom died. Or Joe. Thinking that maybe if he’d been there…

But he knew the ‘what ifs’ did nothing. And he knew that in both those situations Steve was backed up by people a lot more qualified in what was going on. Yet it still felt wrong in his mind and his constant fear of his family being hurt while he wasn’t there was a strong motivator to move in and make sure that Steve was okay. Or would be in time.

When Kamekona and his various family members began showing up with food, Danny let Steve take care of all of that and took Eddie for a quick walk. By the time he came back, a few folk had begun arriving and there was a decent spread. He and Eddie went closer to the water and Danny sat, looking out at the ocean. Eddie was by his knees for a while so Danny could stroke him but eventually he settled curled up on the other chair. 

He chatted with Quinn then became a bit more sociable after Junior’s parents arrived. He always kept an eye on what was going on around him. He liked to think it was his detective brain at work noticing details but really, at least in this instance, he’d been subtly trailing Steve around. It just so happened, maybe, that he also felt a little nosy as he watched Tani and Junior together but for the most part, his eyes followed Steve.

None of them were expecting it, so Adam and Steve’s impromptu football game only lasted about 20 minutes. Tani got competitive, Noelani blew hot and cold between being afraid of the ball and then charging people in a rage, Junior fell down at one point because he was laughing too hard at something Danny had completely missed seeing and Quinn, it turned out, had the same flair as Danny for being sneaky on the field. Which sparked Steve’s ‘sore loser’ side and the SEAL had called a halt to the game, insisting that no one won since the game was called off in favor of dining. 

Danny and Quinn were grabbing some food when they saw a short distance away where Tani was swatting Steve’s arm and telling him off for something, pointing back over to where Danny was standing. Quinn nudged her elbow against Danny. “And I thought Steve was the competitive one. She doesn’t seem happy.”

“Yeah, I’ve not had a chance to really see her explode but I’ve heard the stories.”

Junior had wandered by and decided to save himself and not stop Tani’s tirade at her boss and he redirected over to the food table.

“What’s going on?” Quinn asked of him, indicating over with her head. 

“Something about it being Steve’s own fault their team sucked this year because he was distracted by... something,” he blushed a little but covered it by shrugging his shoulders and wandered away again, plate in hand and cornbread in his mouth. 

“That’s what that’s about?”

“Told you, she goes insane during things like this.”

“No, I mean, even if he was distracted, that’s not why they lost. It all evens out in the end on that front. We won because we were better, end of.”

“Damn right we did and- wait, hold up, evens out?”

“Well, yeah,” she said like it was obvious. “If he was distracted it can’t have been any more than you were. I mean, you’ve been watching him like a hawk all day. It’s not exactly subtle.” Danny didn’t immediately respond. He was just slightly shocked, unsure how to react and she gave him a small smile. “The pieces of this puzzle, they’re slowly falling into place.” Quinn looked between Steve and Danny and waved her hand to encompass both of them. “Yeah, I think I’m getting it.”

“Getting what?” Danny asked, but she just turned and headed to go eat and chat with Noelani instead. 

“I swear, that girl needs her head checked,” Steve made Danny jump as he came up behind, grabbing a plate for himself.

“Which one?” Danny asked, eyes still on Quinn as she walked over to Lou.

“Who do you think? The one who, if she had it her way, wouldn’t allow any game to stop until she won, even if it went on all night.”

“So you admit that it would go on forever because your team would never beat us?”

“No, I didn’t say that,” Steve shook his head and kept his eyes on the food. 

“Except you did. You just said that.”

“Really didn’t. You have faulty ears, maybe they’re all blocked up or something.”

“You’re pathetic. You’re just as bad as Tani is. Maybe worse. Because you made sure that no one could win all so that you wouldn’t lose. She’d at least keep going until exhaustion.”

“Which is a terrible strategy. No one is any good if they’re exhausted. Or starving, like I was,” he popped a small slice of turkey into his mouth. 

“What’s up with those two?” Danny asked pointing towards Quinn and Lou, changing the topic since they could argue it all day. 

Steve shrugged. “Maybe talking about the case.”

“No, their faces don’t say that.”

“You and the faces people make,” Steve rolled his eyes, but he knew as much as everyone else that Danny was usually right when he saw something in someone’s expression. He’d proven it on the job plenty. 

“They’re too conspiratorial. Like they know something that other people don’t. And they think it’s funny. I think they’re talking about us.”

“Why?” Steve asked, looking slightly… guilty?

“I don’t know, just a hunch. Quinn was saying some stuff about our relationship,” he said. Quinn hadn’t exactly mentioned that. Danny had inferred it. Which maybe meant _he_ was the one thinking about their relationship. “I saw you talking to Lou earlier on. He say anything weird?”

Steve just shook his head and ate again from his plate. 

“Nevermind then. It’s probably nothing,” Danny decided to let it go. “Hey, you feel like gossiping about Tani and Junior? I think whatever is going on between them has gone up a notch.”

*

Lou was the last to leave the party. Danny led him to the front door while Steve put away the last of the food in the kitchen.

“You know, he’s not stupid,” Lou started as they stood on the front step. “He’s going to figure out why you’re here.”

“I know,” Danny said, putting his hands in his pockets as he leaned on the door frame. “I have a feeling that I’m going to have to be less subtle in trying to get him to open up to me about everything. That’ll give it away.”

“Uh-huh,” Lou answered with a strange smirk on his face. He knew something Danny didn’t. “You boys always did have a weird way of looking after one another. Have a good weekend. See you Monday.”

Danny made his way back inside. It was just the two of them left in the house as Junior had disappeared with Tani earlier on, fuelling more of the speculation that a whole bunch of the guests had used in conversation with each other. Of course, throughout the evening Danny had worked out that those two weren’t the only topic of the gossip going around their circle of friends. He’d heard his own name mentioned a few times in relation to Steve’s as word got out that Danny was going to be crashing at the house for a bit. Adam had engaged in some gentle ribbing which definitely came from things he had once talked about with Kono - it was infused with her style.

“I think your hosting duties are done,” Danny announced as he wandered into the kitchen, opening the fridge to grab a few beers as he did so. “Everything else can wait until morning.”

“Did we bring in all the chairs?”

“Junior got the last of them into the garage before he left.”

Steve stared at the bowls of leftover food, some had already gone into the fridge, some were wrapped and could sit on the counter and then there were a few that would probably be Eddie’s dinner tomorrow. He wiped his hands on a towel. “Then yeah, I guess that’s as much as we need to do tonight,” he agreed, taking the proffered beer from Danny’s hand and clinking it to his partner’s before swigging from it. 

They settled on the sofa in much the same way as they had the night before, toeing off their shoes and putting their feet up on the coffee table. Steve took control of the remote and began surfing before settling on a sports channel showing highlights of the earlier game. 

“I have a question,” Steve broke the silence. 

“Okay,” Danny answered, a little wary because Steve seemed to be smirking a little.

“You slept good last night. I mean, I woke up before you this morning and you were dead to the world.”

“Your bed is comfortable. I like it,” Danny answered. 

“I agree and I like it too. But last time you stayed here for any length of time you complained the whole time about how you couldn’t sleep because of the waves. And you drove me crazy keeping the TV on at night.”

“That was a long time ago.”

“So you’re saying you’ve changed your opinion? You don’t mind the waves? Maybe you agree now that they’re soothing and help promote a healthy night’s rest?”

“I’m saying this island has infected me to a point where I’m now numb to the annoying sounds it makes. I blame you for that. All the times we’ve spent sitting out in your backyard shooting the breeze.”

“I dunno,” Steve said. “I don’t think it’s so much of a change as it is that you liked it all along and you were just too stubborn to admit it.”

“Maybe I was just so used to things being a certain way and it took me a little longer to accept change. At least out loud, anyway.”

“Kinda sounds like we’re talking about more than just the sound of the waves.”

“Maybe,” Danny admitted. 

“Why’d you move in here with me?” Steve asked, finally asking. 

“Mold,” Danny began, sticking to his story but at Steve’s look he wavered. “Concern. For you. I wanted to make sure you were taking care of yourself properly.”

“I kind of already knew that. But Junior lives here, I’m sure if there was any worry he’d tell me himself or go to you and ask for advice. I can’t help but wonder if there’s any other reason?”

“What makes you ask that?” 

Steve seemed to hesitate, or take his time to gather courage to say what he was wondering. “You broke up with Melissa and then tried again with Rachel which has clearly not worked out at all. I’ve been doing random dating, most of which you’ve been encouraging like you’re trying to make sure that at least one of us isn’t single at the moment. I just wonder if that’s because if one of us is off the market that creates… a barrier.”

“A barrier?”

“To us. Because it feels like over the years things have worn down between us and if there’s a barrier then it stops us from doing things that … move things forward.”

“And you think we should be moving things forward?”

“We shared a bed in Washington. We shared a bed last night. Frankly, I’ve never shared a bed with anyone in my adult life where I wasn’t also… y’know. Having sex with them.”

Danny licked his lips and nodded, looking down at his hands as he fidgeted before shuffling around, turning to face Steve and resting an elbow on the back of the couch. “So, what you’re saying is, if we share a bed again tonight, which is highly possible considering the lack of beds in this house, we should be having sex?”

“Look, all I know is that it makes sense.”

“Okay,” Danny answered and Steve looked at him, confused.

“What does that mean?”

“It means okay. I agree.” Danny looked at Steve’s surprised face. He was surprising himself at how easy the answer felt but if Steve was going to put things out there then he could be honest in his reply. “We can have a big heart to heart about our feelings if you want. We probably should. I wasn’t exactly prepared for my stay here to go in this direction.”

“What did you expect?”

Danny wiped a hand over his face as he considered it. “Back in Washington, you said some things that made me worry about where your head is at after losing your mom so soon after losing Joe. I know you’ve been struggling to reconcile how you feel about what they did over the years that hurt you while still loving them. And I think you need to be reminded that life is muddy but you’ve got people in your corner that don’t lie to you. That’s why I’m here.”

“Person,” Steve corrected.

“What?”

“A _person_ in my corner who doesn’t lie to me. Danny, you’re the only person I’ve ever truly put my faith in to tell me the truth. The only person who really knows what holding back information does to me and whatever ‘issues’ I have. Even if it’s not really lying, or it’s lying by omission… you never even do that. You tell me everything you know that you think might affect me. And after everything with the restaurant and retirement planning you tell me things even if you _don’t_ think they’ll affect me, just in case. I know everything about you, period. Even the mundane stuff. You don’t hide from me.”

“Yet, we’re sitting here discussing the fact that maybe we want to sleep together, and if that’s the case, we’ve been hiding how long that’s maybe been a thing between us?”

Steve shook his head. “No, I’ve known for a long time.” At Danny’s expectant look, he continued. “It was after the radiation exposure with the car battery. I knew then. When you didn’t know what to say when we thought we might die. I felt like after all our life and death experiences, that was the one with the real lightbulb moment for you. It was me that didn’t want to admit that I knew what you were feeling. Or anything about how I felt in return. Which, while we’re sharing, was after you gave me half your liver. I knew then.”

Danny took a deep breath and fidgeted again. “Maybe I knew that too. That was a weird year after everything with Catherine but it seemed like, after that, your outlook changed again. Others all figured it was down to the fact you almost died but you’ve been through enough of those before. I knew that was your epiphany moment, putting things into the past, looking to the future, and, although maybe not admitting that you _deserve_ what you want, you still knew what that was. It took me a little longer to get my thoughts in order.”

“So we’ve established that we’re both cowards at acting on our feelings but we are very good detectives,” Steve smiled and shifted closer on the couch, his legs touching where Danny had pulled his knee up onto the cushion. 

“I’d have to agree. My track record in both cases speaks for itself. And you practically solved a decades-old case in your sleep, yet never even called Catherine your girlfriend in all the years you were dating,” Danny pointed out.

“Shut up,” Steve told Danny who had really just been talking to fill space. Steve moved closer again, reaching a hand out to cup Danny’s face and lean in. It was slow and careful, and just before their lips touched, Steve pulled back. Just a little. “Have you done this before? With another man?”

“Not since college, but yeah.”

“So… no one that I know?”

Danny narrowed his eyes. “No. Why? Did you think there was-”

“Never mind,” he moved in again and this time Danny was the one to pull back. 

“What about you?”

“It wasn’t exactly something I could risk doing in the Navy. This is new to me. The physical aspect anyway.”

“You’re sure you want to do it?”

“Positive,” Steve replied, a small smile playing on his lips as he leaned in this time. His lips touched Danny's in a soft kiss, testing. In true McGarrett form he was quick to move things further, getting from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye as he deepened the kisses, pressing for further exploration. The taste of alcohol was on their tongues as they met and he pushed Danny back into the couch corner, Danny’s head laying on the arm with Steve kneeling over him, slowly letting his body down to lie on top of him.

Danny’s hands tangled in the hair at the back of Steve’s neck as he lifted his leg that was falling off the couch and wrapped it around the back of Steve’s knee. “This is easier than I thought it would be,” Danny said as they parted enough to breathe. 

“I kinda like the stubble. Why do women always complain about that?”

Danny giggled at Steve’s question, lifting his head to place a kiss at the corner of Steve’s mouth. “And the hairy chest?”

“I’ve been wanting to touch it for years. It’s definitely not a problem”

They were kissing again, making out like teenagers on the couch, or like the start of a bad babysitters porno. Danny’s hand skirted down Steve’s side and round his hip and further down to squeeze at his ass. Steve’s hand massaged down Danny’s chest on top of his shirt, feeling the play of muscles beneath. Reaching Danny’s waistband, he slid his fingers under the material and back up under his shirt.

Steve pulled up from their kisses, hands fumbling to open the buttons on Danny’s shirt and in return, Danny lifted the hem of Steve’s t-shirt to get it over his head. Then Steve was on him again, somehow kissing him with more intensity now that he was topless.

As Danny gathered his breath, he turned his head to the side and Steve began kissing his neck. He pushed Steve up. “Wait, wait-”

“What is it?”

Danny indicated to the side where Eddie was sitting on the other side of the coffee table, panting away and watching them. “Eddie, what are you doing?” Steve asked the dog, but hearing his name was Eddie’s cue and he walked round to them and shoved his face in against theirs, sniffing and licking until they pulled back. 

“We’re not going to get any privacy down here,” Danny laughed.

“Yeah, and Junior could walk in at any time,” Steve sat up and climbed off the couch. He reached his hand out to help Danny up and stood close. “Do me a favor and go upstairs and get into bed. I’m going to lock up down here then be right up.”

“Okay,” Danny replied in a we’re-really-doing-this tone of voice before scratching behind Eddie’s ears and making his way upstairs.

Standing in Steve’s room, he had a moment to really think about what was happening. His brain was flooded with thoughts on it. Good and bad but mostly very good. He worried for a moment that they were being too cavalier about it, or that he was taking advantage of Steve while he was mourning. But Steve was a big boy who knew what he was doing. He stripped down to his underwear and went into the bathroom. By the time he came back out from the en suite, Steve was there taking all of his clothes off. The SEAL sat on the edge of the bed and took everything from his lower half off in one fell swoop with no hint at modesty. 

He stood again and turned to Danny, his cock already half hard. And he was _definitely_ a 'big boy' who could take care of himself. Danny felt a blush creep onto his cheeks even though that thought was just in his head along with the images of them together that were being conjured up.

Steve put his arms around Danny, low on his waist. He leaned down to start kissing Danny again, taking his time and getting lost in the simplicity of them finally doing this. Danny finally pulled back again. “Do you have… stuff?”

“Get into bed,” Steve told him, a hand snagging at Danny’s underwear and pulling them halfway down as he went to the bedside table and rummaged in a drawer, getting out a condom and lube while Danny took his underwear off and climbed into the middle of the bed. 

Steve followed on his knees and moved between Danny’s legs. It seemed presumptuous but at the same time, Danny wasn’t complaining. He had experience while Steve didn’t, so it made sense.

Danny watched as Steve opened the condom packet and began to put it over his hard cock. He stopped with it midway down. “You’re good with this, right? I’ve never- and I think I’m on auto-pilot when it comes to this part.”

“It’s been a while but I’m looking forward to it,” Danny answered, wanting Steve to hear an enthusiastic yes. “You can try next time. If you’re ready. We’ll go at your pace for that stuff.”

Steve continued putting his condom on. “I’m annoyed that this isn’t something we get to try for the first time together. But it’s good one of us has some experience with other men.”

“Would it help if I said those other guys back then weren’t very good and I’m positive you’ll blow them out of the water?”

“Is it true?”

“Not the point. Will it help if I say all that…?” Danny grinned and Steve pinched at his nipple in retaliation. “Ow!”

“I’m gonna be better than them,” Steve controlled a fall down on top of Danny, arms on either side of his body, letting their chests rub together as he kissed Danny again.

“Prove it,” Danny challenged and Steve rolled his hips, his rubber-clad dick rubbing against Danny’s own hardness where they were trapped between their bodies as Steve began a gentle rhythm while they continued kissing.

Steve fumbled for the lube and broke away from Danny, who leaned up and kissed against Steve’s jawline stubble, his hands still on Steve’s lower back, keeping him close as they rubbed against each other. Steve knelt up again and with lube covering both his hands, he used them to stroke both dicks. Danny arched up into the touch, loving the feel of Steve’s hand on him, thumb tracing over the head on each stroke, pre-cum already leaking out. 

He moaned a little when Steve let go, but replaced it with his own hand and licked his lips as Steve’s fingers traced back behind his balls to his hole and one finger began to press inside him. Steve was slow and careful, watching Dany closely as he relaxed into the feeling. “Keep going,” he encouraged until Steve was fucking his finger in and out of Danny with ease.

As Steve pushed another finger in, Danny tightened his grip at the base of his own cock to keep himself at bay. It felt good to have Steve touching him inside, twisting his fingers, crooking them, letting Danny get used to them. With three inside him, Danny watched Steve as he seemed fascinated by the way Danny’s hole opened up for him, and in how Danny was enjoying it.

“Do it,” Danny told him. “I’m not gonna break.”

Steve pulled his fingers out, his eyes still on Danny’s gaping hole as he put more lube on his cock then lined himself up. He rubbed the head of his cock over Danny’s perineum and circled around his hole before pushing in, the head breaching quickly, Danny gripping into the bedsheets and lifting his legs higher to wrap around Steve’s waist. “Fuck, you’re tight,” Steve’s voice strained as he kept pushing his cock in further, pulling out a little before getting deeper with each thrust back in. 

Danny kept jacking himself off and tried to use his feet to pull Steve in tighter against him, using the heel of his foot to make his impatience known. He could feel his orgasm pooling low in his belly, his own hand helping it along, his balls tightening and he didn’t want to come until Steve was fucking him harder. 

Steve braced himself on his hands, biceps straining as he felt the need growing inside himself for more and now. He thrust harder into Danny and pushed their bodies closer; Danny’s legs folding up to expose his hole for Steve to pound at this angle. Danny reached his spare hand up to cup Steve’s face and hold it close to his own, mingling breath, foreheads touching, bed creaking with their movements. 

When he came it was sudden despite him having felt that build ready to overflow for an eternity. His moan cut off in the back of his throat as his cum spurted between their bodies and he squeezed every drop out of himself as Steve’s hips began to stutter at the way Danny had tightened around him. He spilled inside Danny, pressing his cock deep and holding it as he came. He practically collapsed down on top of Danny as their sweat cooled on their bodies. He shifted enough to let his cock fall out of Danny’s ass and he reached down to take the condom off and throw it aside. Touching himself again, wringing the last of his cum out and rubbing it off against Danny’s ass, he then licked his fingers, and explored Danny’s wide-open hole, easing a little of the cum just inside before he lay beside Danny on the bed. 

He kissed Danny’s shoulder and trailed his fingers over Danny’s hairy chest, a nail flicking over an erect nipple. “So, that happened.”

Danny reached a hand up to grab for Steve’s and twined their fingers together. “Yeah, it did.” 

He turned his head and kissed Steve before settling comfortably into the bed with a content sigh, eyes closing for a few minutes. Both of them just basking in the afterglow for a little while.

“Is it just me, or was this too easy?” Danny asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

“Considering how long it took us to get here, I don’t think you can call that easy.”

Danny propped himself up on an elbow and looked down at Steve. “Us doing this doesn’t magically help you get over everything you’ve been struggling with.”

Steve mirrored Danny’s position as he answered. “I know. But I told you before that having distractions and other things to concentrate on helps. And having this,” he stroked his fingers up Danny’s arm then trailed them down his chest. “This is a big help.”

“And what about other things we’ve got to think about. Grace, Charlie… the team?”

“I love your kids. And they love me. And the team have never had an issue with interpersonal relationships. Chin and Abby for one. Look at Junior and Tani, everyone knows where those two are heading as well.”

“As well? You make it sound like people thought we were inevitable.”

“I have my suspicions. Like I said, think about how we all know what’s going on with the kids and just apply it to our situation.”

“You have a point,” Danny admitted, then Steve cupped his face and leaned in to press a soft kiss on his lips, smiling into the next one, and the one after that. This new aspect to their relationship being one Steve was really enjoying going by how much kissing they’d done this evening.

Danny fell back onto the pillow, Steve following half on top of him. “For someone who just had gay sex for the first time, are you sure you don’t need to have some kind of freak out?” he asked.

Steve shook his head and their noses rubbed together before he pressed one more kiss to Danny’s lips. “Honestly, I didn’t even think about that. I had a point to prove about being the best fuck you ever had.”

“And after we’ve done it a few more times, I’m sure you’re going to get there.”

Steve pinched at one of Danny’s nipples again, clearly that was going to be his go-to ‘punishment’. Danny laughed as Steve climbed on top of him again. “Challenge accepted.”

*

Both men had put on sleep pants the next morning. Neither had heard Junior coming back the night before so assumed he was probably staying over with his parents with things going well between them. Either that or he and Tani had maybe had some kind of breakthrough themselves on what they were to each other. Maybe there was something in the water yesterday. 

Danny hopped up onto the countertop while Steve made them eggs for breakfast. “I think if you added bacon, Eddie would appreciate it.”

“Eddie would?” Steve asked as he looked at the dog waiting patiently while Steve cooked. 

“I would as well,” Danny replied. “I mean I made gourmet pancakes yesterday for you, the least you could do is add a little bacon.”

“Fine,” Steve sounded put upon but his smile gave him away. Danny recognized the dopey grin on Steve’s face and the relaxed posture. He’d seen it before on mornings after Steve had a good night with a ‘friend’. Now he was wearing it because of Danny and it gave him a jolt of pride at knowing that. 

Steve moved to the fridge to pull out the packet of meat, chucking it over by the stovetop. He then also grabbed a bowl of berries that were left over from the day before. Taking off the cling wrap he walked the long way around the table and stood between Danny’s legs. 

“I thought maybe we could be healthier this morning and have a fruit bowl with our breakfast but since you prefer bacon…”

“Hey, we can have both. I don’t know about you but I worked up an appetite last night. And this morning,” he smirked and Steve took a blueberry out of the bowl and held it up for Danny, feeding it to him, his fingers getting caught in Danny’s mouth before he pulled them out. Danny licked his lips but then wrinkled his nose up. “This time I actually do know where your fingers have been. Tell me you washed your hands?”

“Of course,” Steve rolled his eyes, then used the same fingers to feed himself a strawberry and he made a show of getting his spit all over them before pulling them out of his mouth. 

“You’re an idiot,” Danny said, then Steve reached his wet fingers up to Danny’s face again, trying to get them into his mouth and instead ending up wiping them over his cheek and chin as they both flailed around, play fighting before wrapping their arms around each other and kissing, tastes mingling.

“Woah, oh my God!” Tani’s voice exclaimed and Steve jumped back in surprise and Danny leaped off the countertop, banging into Steve as he did so before they gathered themselves, turning to the kitchen door to see Junior and Tani standing there looking uncomfortable, shocked and amused. At least, Tani was amused anyway. “You didn’t hear us coming in the front door?!”

“Uh, no, sorry,” Steve replied. 

“We were… distracted. By breakfast,” Danny said.

“By breakfast,” Steve repeated, a blush on his cheeks. 

Tani smirked. “Yeah, that’s some breakfast you’re having. Joons, why didn’t you tell me about this?” she asked her friend as she leaned on the doorframe, nonchalant and nosy.

“It’s none of my business,” he answered. 

“I mean it makes sense, the whole moving in thing and how close you both are. I always _thought_ but, no one _knew_ -”

“I told you,” Steve said, moving back over to the stove but pointedly looking at Danny who told him to shut up in return. 

Junior got down to pet Eddie while Tani walked around the table and leaned on the counter beside Danny. She nudged him with her elbow and sing-songed. “So… you’re boyfriends, huh?”

Danny screwed his face up. “Please don’t say it like that. Besides, 'boyfriends' makes us sound like teenagers.”

“We’re partners,” Steve shrugged as he concentrated on cooking.

“But that’s what you call yourselves at work,” Tani pointed out. “It’s a work thing.”

“So what do I call you then?” Steve turned around again, looking at Danny. He seemed playful but also wanted a real answer. 

“You call me Danny. Because that’s my name. And I call you Steve.”

“I mean about what’s going on with us. She’s right, what do we tell people that we are?” He waved a spatula around as he spoke.

“Would you keep an eye on breakfast, please? I know I like them crispy but they’re going to be too burned if you don’t keep an eye on them,” Danny said. “And I don’t know. I moved in here to give you support, as your best friend and partner. That's all I got.”

“So we’re emotional support friends?” Steve asked, amused. 

“Seriously, I think those eggs are ready,’ Danny said instead, avoiding Steve’s question and taking his plate into the living room, leaving the other three to continue the conversation. 

*

It was a beautiful day and Danny had been able to convince Rachel to let them see the kids for a little bit that afternoon. Before then, they were just relaxing in the backyard, sitting on their chairs and watching the waves roll in and out.

“Just so we’re clear… my house doesn’t have any mold,” Danny said.

“I’m aware. Have been this whole time. As Lou said to me yesterday - since _all of us_ know why you moved in here - you do not have the greatest poker face.”

“This coming from two men who I regularly beat at poker.”

“I think he meant when it comes to things like this.”

“I could just move back.”

“There’s no rush. You can stay here as long as you want,” Steve replied and there was a moment of silence. His tone sounded like he really didn’t want Danny to go anywhere and it softened the jokey atmosphere.

“You do know that what we’re doing doesn’t just stop if I’m not here and sleeping in your bed. Right?”

“You moved in for a reason. Do you think the sex fixed that issue?” Steve shot back. 

Danny jutted out his bottom lip. “No,” he replied. “It’s great and as much as I’d like to think us sleeping together could fix all the problems we have, It's not that simple.”

“Then I say we finish out the week you planned to be here anyway, and we’ll take it from there.”

They were quiet again for a while until Danny felt the need to fill the silence. “We should have a poker night. Invite everyone round, maybe let them know that you and I being a thing doesn’t change anything. Maybe I then take all your money since you never know when I’m bluffing…”

Steve cleared his throat. “It’s really bothering you that I told you Lou said you had a terrible poker face. Isn’t it.”

“Yes, it is.”

“So we’ll have a poker night. You can take all of _his_ money and we can go out on a nice date, how about that?”

Danny smirked. “Sounds like a plan.”


End file.
